Over the past several years, public interest regarding the conservation of marine ecosystems has increased worldwide. Marine scientists have a responsibility to increase cooperation with society and contribute to the realization of effective policymaking based on scientific knowledge. One effective method is to use observation data towards the development of the global indicators for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as well as the Aichi Targets.

While efforts are being made under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) towards achieving the Aichi Targets, the situation has not been improving as expected due to a variety of phenomena interlinked in a complicated manner. In order to speed up efforts to achieve the Targets, there is a need for a variety of relevant organizations on all levels to cooperate and take a comprehensive approach to the situation.

We depend on our marine environment for many human activities from fishing to transport to recreation; however, we are not managing our seas sustainably. In order to ensure marine ecosystems are available for future generations to use and enjoy, we must find a way to sustainably manage human use of the marine environment.